A Quick Update, an Owl Talk Tomorrow and A Call For Owl Prowls

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

As of last night the youngest owlet is still in Charles and Sarah's territory.  This is interesting on several fronts.  One, the youngest owlet last year was last seen on September 17, 2013 and that was on the later side of things.  Two, the owlet has been alternating between leaving Charles and Sarah alone to duet and engaging in what I call duettus interruptus.  This process involves the owlet landing near or practically on the parents as they duet while begging for food with great intensity.   Here's the owlet last night where I found him near The Permanent Puddle. {Be sure to double click on each photo to see a larger version)

Here's the owlet from a few nights ago beginning the evening with some mild begging calls and blinking while perched on The Fallen Tree:



That is before he demonstrated classic duettus interruptus. Charles was on the right and Sarah on the left in The Jungle Gym Tree Near The Overlook Hotel Tree having a great duet until...



Thirdly, the continued presence of the owlet has altered Charles and Sarah's perch/roost sites. These sites vary by season and some of the seasonal spots have changed over the years.  In the last few weeks I have only seen Charles and Sarah a few times in their more typical later summer/early fall spots in The Wooded Area.  Instead, they have been perching in The Hilly Wooded Area, which is near to but outside of The Wooded Area. I have not seen them perch in this area since 2010 when Sarah nested in this stretch of the park! I think that, as much as possible, they are trying to keep their distance from the youngest owlet so that it disperses.

Yesterday, I found Charles in this area in a large Sycamore, the same tree I found him in just a few days prior.  Here's a cropped photo that shows his incredible toes and talons.

Sarah was in medium-sized dead tree in which I found her on Friday.  I was able to get a close look at her, which was a thrill.

She and Charles got a great duet going and Charles went to a different tree and continued duetting with the moon to his right.  "Owl Moon" indeed!

I'm giving my next public talk on the owls and my work with them tomorrow at the Cliff Cave Branch Library of the St. Louis County Library System. This is my second talk at this location and I'm thrilled to be returning here for my twenty-seventh talk of the year.  Here are the details:

"Forest Park Owls: "Hiding In Plain Sight"
Wednesday October 1, 2014, 6:30pm,
Cliff Cave Branch Library,
5430 Telegraph Rd, Oakville, MO 63129

I hope to see you there!  I'll be showing lots of pictures and videos like this one  from last night of Sarah doing a double wing stretch before going right into an escalator stretch and then finishing with some grooming.



Lastly, just want to remind folks that this a great time of the year for owl prowls.  The weather is divine and sunset is at a reasonable time. I am now aware that Weather Goldilocks Syndrome (WGS) is in the DSM-5.  WGS is the phenomenon of people who say, "It's too hot." and then quickly follow the first statement with "It's too cold."  I have seen it also manifested by people who, in January, say, "I really want to come see the owls...when it is a little warmer."  These are often the same folks who say in July, "I really want to come see the owls...when it is a little cooler." Well, now is your chance to come see the owls in almost ideal conditions before autumn and then winter really hit hard.  I have good availability for prowls in October.  Please drop me a line at mglenshaw@gmail.com and provide me a few dates that work for you and we''ll go from there.

Thank  you for reading!